Tuesday, April 6, 1999 Published at 06:00 GMT 07:00 UKWorld: EuropeRespite for some refugeesRefugees board a plane destined for Turkey
Kosovo Albanian refugees have been airlifted out of overcrowded camps in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, to Turkey, which has promised respite for 20,000 people escaping Serbian violence.

More than 1,000 refugees are reported to be arriving in Turkey to ease the developing humanitarian crisis in Macedonia.

And as the airlift got under way Nato once again unleashed new attacks on Serbian targets, aided by improving weather conditions. The towns of Nis and Novisad were reported to have been hit by air strikes on Monday night.

He also announced "Operation Sustain Hope" - a co-ordinated effort to fly in humanitarian aid to help refugees from countries including Italy and Germany.

The president conceded that it had not been possible for Nato to prepare fully for the scale of the refugee crisis.

Safe in Turkey

The first plane-load of bewildered refugees arrived at a small airport in Turkey in the middle of Monday night. Some complained that they had been put on the plane without being told where they were going.